Cinder

Book Name

Cinder 

Author

Marissa Meyer

Book Description

Cinder is just like every other person in the city of New Beijing – except for the fact that she’s half-made up of metal. Cinder is a cyborg – a person who is half flesh and half robot. Unfortunately, Cinder’s stepmother thinks that cyborgs are the dirt of the world and that they don’t deserve to live like normal human beings. For this very reason, she treats Cinder terribly, making her work for her and not giving her any freedom. Cinder is forced to work as a mechanic to bring in money for her stepmother, a job that while she does enjoy, requires her to get dusty and dirty. However, when Prince Kai stops by her stall, her life changes. Soon after the Prince leaves, her market is shut down by the dreaded disease Letumosis, and after examining her, doctors find out that she is immune to the disease. But Cinder’s immunity makes her a target for dangerous people, and she must learn about secrets from her past and save herself and her city before they fall into despair. Will Cinder come out on top? What secrets exist about Cinder, and can she figure them out? Will she let her attraction to Prince Kai get in the way? Read the book to find out?

Age Rating

13+

This book has some ideas that younger kids might not be able to understand. In the book, Adri, Cinder’s stepmother, treats Cinder badly because she is a cyborg. This is a form of discrimination, which could be something that younger kids might not have been exposed to. They also might take it the wrong way and assume that it is alright to discriminate against people, which is wrong. In one part of the book, Cinder jokingly says that she had a sex change. Even though she didn’t actually have one, most young kids will not know what that is and might feel uncomfortable about it. Queen Levana is Lunar and in the book, Lunar people have the ability to control people through their powers. Most of the time, Lunar people use their powers for bad reasons. They control people incorrectly and sometimes force them to do bad things. Younger kids might not be used to the idea of someone having so much power over people and this might scare them. In the book, the disease Letumosis is incurable and it causes thousands over the world to die. The idea of the disease being incurable might scare younger children. However, older children would have studied about plagues and diseases that swept the world and might feel more comfortable with it. The idea of death is also very present in the book, as many people die from Letumosis. The symptoms of the disease are also described in some details, which might make smaller kids feel sick. Overall, kids above the age of 13 would most likely have been previously exposed to most of the ideas in the book and would feel comfortable reading about it. Younger kids are less likely to have encountered something like this, which is why I would suggest against them reading it.

Good Messages

5/10

There are some good messages in this book. Readers learn about the importance of equality through the discrimination cyborgs face. The difficulties that the cyborgs have will teach students not to treat anyone that badly. Readers also learn about the importance of peace through the animosity between the Lunars and the Earthen. The value of family and siblings is shown through the love Cinder has for her stepsister, Peony. Readers will also learn to follow the rules, as they see what happens when Cinder doesn’t (which is something bad), and that will influence them to be good so that they don’t get into trouble.

Violence

7/10

There is a fair amount of violence in this book. A deadly disease threatens the world that Cinder lives in, and thousands of people die from it. Cinder’s stepsister, Peony, is also diagnosed with it and later dies from it, and Cinder’s stepfather died of it earlier. Prince Kai’s mother and father both die from the disease. Queen Levana servant, Sybil, almost forces a maid to stab herself in the eye because she disobeyed a rule. When people die, androids come and cut out previously implanted ID chips from the person’s hand using a knife. When Cinder visits the facility where sick people are admitted, she sees a lot of sickness and disease symptoms. Queen Levana is rumored to have forced her family members to destroy their face because they were prettier than her and to have killed her niece. Towards the end of the book, Queen Levana attempts to have Cinder shoot herself, Cinder shoots a guard instead.

Language

0.5/10

The word ‘stupid’ is used.

Romance

2/10

Prince Kai is supposedly very handsome, and all the girls in New Beijing have a crush on him. Cinder’s helping robot, Iko, talks often about how hot the Prince is. Cinder develops feelings for him later as well and kisses him once towards the end of the book. Prince Kai asks Cinder to go with him to a ball multiple times. 

Adult Topics

There aren’t any adult topics in this book.

Tvix’s Take

This was a SUPER fun book to read. It was really addicting, and I couldn’t put it down. The whole concept of a modern Cinderella was really clever, and it was written in a way that did the idea justice. There was a major plot twist at the end that I DIDN’T see coming, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. To be honest, there were plot twists present in a lot of parts of the book, and they added a new level to the book each time. There was always some kind of action going on, and that made you want to know what was coming next for every second that you read the book. Overall, this book was fantastic, and I would definitely suggest any teenager read it.